The Final Word on Equal Pay in Tennis: Get Over It!

There are many things that women do as well as men or even better. We just don’t feel compelled to brag about it, is all.

Modesty is at the top of our list. In fact, the truth is that we smell better, look better, and often manage outcomes better than most men. Ahem.

But like everything else in life, we have had to fight for it—like equality in the voting booth, in the work place, and on the playing fields and courts.  

The subject of equality in sports is one of the most hotly contested arenas of late and none stirs debate more deliberately than in the seemingly genteel world of tennis.

After 123 years, the grandest of the Grand Slam Tournaments—Wimbledon—finally agreed to pay the women’s champion as much as they paid the men’s champion. That was in 2007. Yet, the debate continues to rage about equal pay for women in tennis.  Why? 

Will the men get more if the women get less? No.

Does the fact that a woman makes as much money as a man lessen his credibility? No.

Who suffers because a woman makes as much money as a man? No one.

Then what's the big complaint? Are we dealing here with principle? Hmmm—let's survey the arguments and offer an analysis. 

     The No. 1 complaint against women receiving equal pay in the grand slams, at least, is that men potentially play five sets while women may only play three.

     The depth of the men’s game is greater and therefore men must play harder and work harder to win than women.

1. Five Sets vs. Three Sets

Let's talk briefly about physiology. Men are stronger and faster. Their serves are harder, their stokes more powerful. They leap higher and quicker. In the purest terms, they are flashier and their game, more often than not, is more compelling to watch. They can endure five sets of tennis. 

Women can't—that is to say—most women can't extend their game to five sets.

Who wants that? That's not the basis established for determining a women’s champion and it never has been. Why? Because it is not in the best interest of the tournament, its fans, or the players.

Those mental midgets who suggest women play five sets in order to “earn” equal pay are the same ones who only felt vindicated when women were kept barefoot and pregnant until World War II pulled them out of kitchen. That is Neanderthal thinking. 

Sports is entertainment. They aren't on an assembly line. They aren't counting toy boats produced or installing sprockets. Tennis is spectator driven. People watch it because they want to—they aren't counting the number of balls hit or the number of games played. 

They watch for a variety of reasons and not all of them relate to the sport at all (the subject of another commentary!).

Recently, I did an article suggesting that all men’s ATP Master Series matches should be five sets and I was stampeded with heinous, howling comments about how that would ruin the men’s tour because the players couldn't hold up under such rigorous conditions.

If that is the case, then why even broach the topic in discussing women’s matches?

2. Men work harder?

To say that a man must work harder to win is like saying the Big 12 should automatically be accorded a BCS berth just because competition in their conference is stiffer or that Big 10 teams should have to play the “same” teams as the Big 12. 

In tennis, men and women don't compete against each other unless they are playing mixed doubles. Women work hard to come through and win, whether it's a Grand Slam tournament or a regular tour event. That there is equal pay for both champions is fair and just.

As John McEnroe stated, “When you’ve got men and women playing in the same tournament, it is ludicrous to have a difference in pay...it would be setting an example to the rest of society in general to have equal prize money.”

Another factor adding fuel to the fire

With the abrupt retirement of Justine Henin in 2008, the subsequent injury of Maria Sharapova, and the often-missing Williams sisters, the women’s game has suffered from having no consistency at the top of the game. 

Unfortunately, the battle for world No. 1 has produced a number of players owning that distinction without yet having won a major. This casts a shadow on the women’s game as many new young players struggle to ascend. 

At the same time, the men are enjoying a period of heightened competition and favorable press with Nadal and Federer leading the charge. Remember that things can and will change in a heartbeat, and the women will recover and re-establish their pre-eminence...in due time.

A potential return to normalcy

Maria Sharapova will re-emerge as a power in the women’s game during the U.S. Open Tennis Championships in New York later this summer. Her game was vividly apparent in both the French Open and Wimbledon—but her lack of match play was readily apparent and her long legs shuddered under the weight of so much competition. She will be ready for the hard courts where she traditionally does well. 

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[Originally posted at www.ultimatesportsrankings.com]